Video Announcements Background Walkthrough

This post is an answer to the question I’m asked the most: “How do you key the background out in your announcements?” Here is a walkthrough of the process I use in Adobe After Effects. Pay special attention to the brightness of the graphic background and shadows on Sam. There is no keying or tedious rotoscoping, just an illusion. It’s so simple to do that my audio commentary isn’t even necessary. Click here to download the After Effects CS5 project to try it yourself.